Washington paper starts talking about possible coup vs Duterte

Does the waiting game end now? US-based newspaper has just started talking about coup plots versus President Duterte.

A Philippine Star report says... The future of the once-solid US-Philippine defense alliance is uncertain as President Duterte cozies up to China and a coup may be on the horizon, The Washington Times reported.

The worrying prospect is if Duterte allows access rights to Chinese military vessels or some kind of air and sea access to Philippine airstrips and ports, John Blaxland, a former Australian military intelligence official who now teaches at the Australian National University, told the Times.

“The question is will the Philippine military, which is pro-American and already wary of Mr. Duterte’s flirtation with China, allow that, and whether a Trump presidency would perhaps condone a coup to overthrow Duterte if things turn so drastic,” Blaxland said.

“We’ve got to put this on the table,” he said. “We frankly don’t know what the Trump presidency’s policy will be toward Southeast Asia.”

The US and China are deeply intertwined economically and many analysts here believe Washington will do everything possible to try to keep the bilateral relationship on a peaceful and cooperative basis.

But there are points of friction, including China’s expansion of military facilities on artificial islands it built in the South China Sea that is also claimed in parts by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

US president-elect Donald Trump has said that what China is doing in the South China Sea violates international law, adding “we are going to restore our naval power and when we assert our freedom-of-navigation rights like every power in the world, we will do it appropriately. There will be no ambiguity about it.”

The Times quoted analysts saying the future of US-Philippines relations, and quite possibly of America’s overall footprint in the region, now hinges on a huge unknown: will Trump get along or clash with his equally unpredictable Filipino counterpart.

When Duterte telephoned Trump in December to congratulate him on his election victory, the Filipino leader said Trump wished him success in his campaign against the drug problem and invited him to the White House.

According to recent polls released in January 2017, 8 in 10 Filipinos approve and trust President Duterte. With that numbers, I don't think any coup plot will succeed.